The Iron Ring

The Iron Ring, is a ring worn by all engineers in Canada on the pinky of their working hand.

Why the pinky?

My teacher once told me that wearing it on the pinky causes it to rub against the engineer’s desk every now and then, making a noise that would serve as a reminder to the engineer to check his work again and again to make sure there are no mistakes. As you probably know, a little mistake in a critical calculation could cause failure any machine or structure, an engineer’s nightmare.

Tradition has it that the rings are fabricated from the wreckage of some catastrophic engineering failure. The original ring is believed to have come from the remains of the Quebec Bridge, which collapsed during construction in 1907. That bridge, whose 1,800-foot main span was to be the largest cantilever structure in the world, collapsed under its own weight because of an error in the design engineer's calculations. The bridge was redesigned, but it suffered a second accident in 1916, when its center span fell while being hoisted into place, further embarrassing the engineering community. Finally, in 1917, the bridge was completed and stood across the St. Lawrence River as a symbolic gateway under which European immigrants sailed into Canada. The bridge stands today as still the longest cantilever span in the world and as a reminder to Canadian engineers to take care with their designs and to persevere in the face of adversity.

Near the end of their final year engineering students attend the private and voluntary Ceremony of the Calling of an Engineer. This ritual marks the end of the struggle to become an Engineer.


Sources: picture from one of my texts
http://me.queensu.ca/undergraduate/activities/ironring/article.asp
http://traditions.skule.ca/articles/ironring/ironringinfo/ironringinfo.html